| (a) Credit requirements for residential customers.
A retail electric provider (REP) may require a residential customer
or applicant to establish and maintain satisfactory credit as a condition
of providing service pursuant to the requirements of this section.
(1) Establishment of satisfactory credit shall not
relieve any customer from complying with the requirements for payment
of bills by the due date of the bill.
(2) The credit worthiness of spouses established during
shared service in the 12 months prior to their divorce will be equally
applied to both spouses for 12 months immediately after their divorce.
(3) A residential customer or applicant seeking to
establish service with an affiliated REP or provider of last resort
(POLR) can demonstrate satisfactory credit using one of the criteria
listed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph.
(A) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant:
(i) has been a customer of any REP or an electric utility
within the two years prior to the request for electric service;
(ii) is not delinquent in payment of any such electric
service account; and
(iii) during the last 12 consecutive months of service
was not late in paying a bill more than once.
(B) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant
possesses a satisfactory credit rating obtained through a consumer
reporting agency, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission.
(C) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant
is 65 years of age or older and the customer is not currently delinquent
in payment of any electric service account.
(D) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant
has been determined to be a victim of family violence as defined in
the Texas Family Code §71.004, by a family violence center as
defined in Texas Human Resources Code §51.002, by treating medical
personnel, by law enforcement personnel, by the Office of a Texas
District Attorney or County Attorney, by the Office of the Attorney
General, or by a grantee of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation.
This determination shall be evidenced by submission of a certification
letter developed by the Texas Council on Family Violence. The certification
letter may be submitted directly by use of a toll-free fax number
to the affiliated REP or POLR.
(E) A residential customer or applicant seeking to
establish service may be deemed as having established satisfactory
credit if the customer is medically indigent. In order for a customer
or applicant to be considered medically indigent, the customer or
applicant must make a demonstration that the following criteria are
met. Such demonstration must be made annually:
(i) the customer's or applicant's household income
must be at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines as certified by
a governmental entity or government funded energy assistance program
provider; and
(ii) the customer or applicant or the spouse of the
customer or applicant must have been certified by that person's physician
as being unable to perform three or more activities of daily living
as defined in 22 TAC §224.4, or the customer's or applicant's
monthly out-of-pocket medical expenses must exceed 20% of the household's
gross income. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "physician"
shall mean any medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, nurse practitioner,
registered nurse, state-licensed social workers, state-licensed physical
and occupational therapists, and an employee of an agency certified
to provide home health services pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1395 et
seq.
(4) A residential customer or applicant seeking to
establish service with a REP other than an affiliated REP or POLR
can demonstrate satisfactory credit using one of the criteria listed
in subparagraphs (A) through (B) of this paragraph. Notice of these
options for customers or applicants shall be included in any written
or oral notice to a customer or applicant when a deposit is requested.
A REP other than an affiliated REP or POLR may establish additional
methods by which a customer or applicant not meeting the criteria
of subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this paragraph can demonstrate satisfactory
credit, so long as such criteria are not discriminatory pursuant to §25.471(c)
of this title (relating to General Provisions of Customer Protection
Rules).
(A) The residential customer or applicant is 65 years
of age or older and the customer is not currently delinquent in payment
of any electric service account.
(B) The customer or applicant has been determined to
be a victim of family violence as defined in the Texas Family Code §71.004,
by a family violence center as defined in Texas Human Resources Code §51.002,
by treating medical personnel, by law enforcement personnel, by the
Office of a Texas District Attorney or County Attorney, by the Office
of the Attorney General, or by a grantee of the Texas Equal Access
to Justice Foundation. This determination shall be evidenced by submission
of a certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family
Violence. The certification letter may be submitted directly by use
of a toll-free fax number to the REP.
(5) The REP may obtain payment history information
from any REP that has served the applicant in the previous two years
or from a consumer reporting agency, as defined by the Federal Trade
Commission. The REP shall obtain the customer's or applicant's authorization
prior to obtaining such information from the customer's or applicant's
prior REP. A REP shall maintain payment history information for two
years after a customer's electric service has been terminated or disconnected
in order to be able to provide credit history information at the request
of the former customer.
(b) Credit requirements for non-residential customers.
A REP may establish nondiscriminatory criteria pursuant to §25.471(c)
of this title to evaluate the credit requirements for a non-residential
customer or applicant and apply those criteria in a nondiscriminatory
manner. If satisfactory credit cannot be demonstrated by the non-residential
customer or applicant using the criteria established by the REP, the
customer may be required to pay an initial or additional deposit.
No such deposit shall be required if the customer or applicant is
a governmental entity.
(c) Initial deposits for applicants and existing customers.
(1) If satisfactory credit cannot be demonstrated by
a residential applicant, a REP may require the applicant to pay a
deposit prior to receiving service.
(2) An affiliated REP or POLR shall offer a residential
customer or applicant who is required to pay an initial deposit the
option of providing a written letter of guarantee pursuant to subsection
(i) of this section, instead of paying a cash deposit.
(3) A REP shall not require an initial deposit from
an existing customer unless the customer was late paying a bill more
than once during the last 12 months of service or had service terminated
or disconnected for nonpayment during the last 12 months of service.
The customer may be required to pay this initial deposit within ten
days after issuance of a written disconnection notice that requests
such deposit. The disconnection notice may be combined with or issued
concurrently with the request for deposit. The disconnection notice
shall comply with the requirements in §25.483(m) of this title
(relating to Disconnection of Service).
(d) Additional deposits by existing customers.
(1) A REP may request an additional deposit from an
existing customer if:
(A) the average of the customer's actual billings for
the last 12 months are at least twice the amount of the original average
of the estimated annual billings; and
(B) a termination or disconnection notice has been
issued or the account disconnected within the previous 12 months.
(2) A REP may require the customer to pay an additional
deposit within ten days after the REP has requested the additional
deposit.
(3) A REP may disconnect service if the additional
deposit is not paid within ten days of the request, provided a written
disconnection notice has been issued to the customer. A disconnection
notice may be combined with or issued concurrently with the written
request for the additional deposit. The disconnection notice shall
comply with the requirements in §25.483(m) of this title.
(e) Amount of deposit.
(1) The total of all deposits, initial and additional,
required by a REP from any residential customer or applicant:
(A) shall not exceed an amount equivalent to the greater
of:
(i) one-fifth of the customer's estimated annual billing;
or
(ii) the sum of the estimated billings for the next
two months.
(B) A REP may base the estimated annual billing for
initial deposits for applicants on a reasonable estimate of average
usage for the customer class. If a REP requests additional or initial
deposits from existing customers, the REP shall base the estimated
annual billing on the customer's actual historical usage, to the extent
that the historical usage is available. After 12 months of service
with a REP, a customer may request that a REP recalculate the required
deposit based on actual historical usage of the customer.
(2) For the purpose of determining the amount of the
deposit, the estimated billings shall include only charges for electric
service that are disclosed in the REP's terms of service document
provided to the customer or applicant.
(f) Interest on deposits. A REP that requires a deposit
pursuant to this section shall pay interest on that deposit at an
annual rate at least equal to that set by the commission on or before
December 1 of the preceding calendar year, pursuant to Texas Utilities
Code §183.003 (relating to Rate of Interest). If a deposit is
refunded within 30 days of the date of deposit, no interest payment
is required. If the REP keeps the deposit more than 30 days, payment
of interest shall be made from the date of deposit.
(1) Payment of the interest to the customer shall be
made annually, if requested by the customer, or at the time the deposit
is returned or credited to the customer's account.
(2) The deposit shall cease to draw interest on the
date it is returned or credited to the customer's account.
(g) Notification to customers. When a REP requires
a customer to pay a deposit, the REP shall provide the customer written
information about the provider's deposit policy, the customer's right
to post a guarantee in lieu of a cash deposit if applicable, how a
customer may be refunded a deposit, and the circumstances under which
a provider may increase a deposit. These disclosures shall be included
either in the Your Rights as a Customer disclosure or the REP's terms
of service document.
(h) Records of deposits.
(1) A REP that collects a deposit shall keep records
to show:
(A) the name and address of each depositor;
(B) the amount and date of the deposit; and
(C) each transaction concerning the deposit.
(2) A REP that collects a deposit shall issue a receipt
of deposit to each customer or applicant paying a deposit or reflect
the deposit on the customer's bill statement. A REP shall provide
means for a depositor to establish a claim if the receipt is lost.
(3) A REP shall maintain a record of each unclaimed
deposit for at least four years.
(4) A REP shall make a reasonable effort to return
unclaimed deposits.
(i) Guarantees of residential customer accounts. A
guarantee agreement in lieu of a cash deposit issued by any REP, if
applicable, shall conform to the following requirements:
(1) A guarantee agreement between a REP and a guarantor
shall be in writing and shall be for no more than the amount of deposit
the provider would require on the customer's account pursuant to subsection
(e) of this section. The amount of the guarantee shall be clearly
indicated in the signed agreement. The REP may require, as a condition
of the continuation of the guarantee agreement, that the guarantor
remain a customer of the REP, have no past due balance, and have no
more than one late payment in a 12-month period during the term of
the guarantee agreement.
(2) The guarantee shall be voided and returned to the
guarantor according to the provisions of subsection (j) of this section.
(3) Upon default by a residential customer, the guarantor
of that customer's account shall be responsible for the unpaid balance
of the account only up to the amount agreed to in the written agreement.
(4) If the guarantor ceases to be a customer of the
REP or has more than one late payment in a 12-month period during
the term of the guarantee agreement, the provider may treat the guarantee
agreement as in default and demand a cash deposit from the residential
customer as a condition of continuing service.
(5) The REP shall provide written notification to the
guarantor of the customer's default, the amount owed by the guarantor,
and the due date for the amount owed.
Cont'd... |
